Lost and Found
by A113 Cowgirl
Summary: ONESHOT: When a drive goes awry, Lightning and Sally get an opportunity to discuss the events that brought them together. Set in between Cars 1 and two, extreme L/S fluff. (I'm talking fluffy enough to stuff a mattress with.)


**Happy Valentine's Day, yall! This was originally going to be included in a one-shot collection I'm working on, but it wound up being too long. That and I thought of a clever description for this one. Special thanks to Crash for helping me out, dedicated to her. :3**

The two figures in the blazing summer heat were at the dirt track, Sally on the sidelines and Lightning speeding about the course. He employed his last bit of impulsion on the final stretch and zipped over the start/finish line, then slid to a stop in front of the Porsche, unintentionally sending a shower of dirt over her.

"How…was…that?" He panted, covered from fender to bumper in dust. She glanced at the stopwatch and clipboard, then smiled and looked to him.

"Good! You shaved three seconds off of the last time!" She said in a voice that was genuinely supporting. He grinned back, partially because his dirt time was improving and partly because she was happy for him.

"That's a good note to end on. Care for a drive?" He offered with a hopeful gleam in his eye. They began slowly and leisurely heading in the direction of the town.

"Actually, I have an appointment with Luigi in a few minutes. He says my rubber's wearing dangerously low." She said, angling a tire to examine it.

"Then it can wait." He said, about to suggest a later drive.

"No no, I can easily reschedule. I'm feeling like a drive anyway."

"Are you sure? I really don't mind." Lightning said, raising an eyebrow.

"Positive." She smiled. He returned it.

"Alright then. Wheel Well?"

"Sure, we haven't been up there in a while. Race or drive?" She challenged.

"I dunno…. I'd kinda rather…" and he zipped off towards the Radiator cap, and after the initial shock of his departure (though she halfway expected it) she was immediately on his trail. They sped down main street at full speed, both laughing the whole way. She continued to chase him down the desert stretch, slowly catching up to him. As they entered the wooded area of the path, they were neck-in-neck. They remained this way for a good while, making playful and flirtatious faces at one another and swiftly speeding around turns. It was simple things like this that made their relationship fun. They were competitive, but always wished victory on the other.

"I've got the advantage here. You can't drift!" She gloated. They were both well aware that Porsches were superior to draft cars when it came to sharp turns at high speeds. She made sure he never forgot that, too.

"Hate to tell ya, but I'm the one with the racing engine here honey!" He said with good-nature, cutting her off and speeding ahead of her. At this point they were on the curving road that approached Wheel Well. Over the sound of their roaring engines, he heard her laugh merrily at his stunt. The sound always made him smile, and this time was no exception. But his thoughts were interrupted when her laughter was suddenly cut short and replaced by the sound of a deafening bang, then a gasp, then crunching metal. He braked faster than he knew possible, and spun around with wide eyes. He saw her partially smashed against the wall of the cliff, with her outside tire blown.

"Sally!" he shouted, racing to her side. She hissed in a breath between clenched teeth, wincing at the pain. Only her front left fender was injured, but the large dent and various scratches looked painful.

"Oh my God, are you okay? What happened?" Lightning said in a panicked tone, looking her over for further damage.

She chuckled under her breath. "For the most part." She straightened herself up. "Ugh. My tire went out. I guess the explosion threw me sideways, and I was too close to brake in time."

"Does it feel internal at all?" He questioned, still freaking out but remaining as calm as he could for her sake.

"Maybe a few bruises, but it seems like it's mainly metal damage."

Lightning shook his head. "This is all my fault." He said in a guilty tone.

"Of course it's not. Why would it be?" She said, beginning to pull away from the rock wall.

"I shouldn't have started a race, especially with you having thin tires." He responded in an apologetic tone.

"It's just as much my fault." She said. "Don't worry, I'm fine." She tried to reassure him with a weak grin, but he was unconvinced.

"Come on, let's get you to Doc." He said. She limped forward, then winced again.

"I'm not entirely sure I'm able." This statement from her nearly threw him into a frenzy. She had always been the selfless type, and would almost always tough out any discomfort as to not burden those around her. She'd rarely speak up when something was wrong. And now that she was, he knew it was serious. She saw him calculate all of this and tried to supply him with a lighter reason. "Plus, I'm missing a tire, and the others could go soon." She explained.

"True. That's the last thing we need." He agreed, acting as if that comforted him, but still watching her as if she were on her deathbed.

"Could you go get Mater?" She prompted.

"No, then you'd be here alone. Plus, it'd take too long, we should have Doc look at it as soon as possible. Just in case it's anything serious." He responded. "I'll push you back to town, we'd get there quicker." She raised an eyebrow.

"And the tire?" She questioned.

"Try to keep it raised." He said

"…And for the record, I won that race." She added. He laughed, then helped her to turn around, and began pushing her down the winding road. She steered herself as best as she could with a single front tire, trying to avoid driving herself off of the Cliffside road. This setup may have been awkward for the two a year previous, but at this point they had lost the ability to put themselves into an uncomfortable situation. What had started as an attraction had led to a curiosity, then to a change of heart, a build of a romance, and was now an entirely comfortable and passionate relationship. They had become a place of security for one another, which was something she'd come to realize as of late.

They rolled in silence for a few moments, before Lightning's eyes strayed to her still-risen bumper plate, displaying her tattoo. He chuckled softly to himself, catching Sally's attention.

"What's funny?" She asked casually.

"Nothing. Just admiring your tattoo." Her eyes widened and she snapped the plate shut, hiding the pinstriping. She was thankful that he couldn't see her blush.

"What? I like it." Lightning said with a grin.

"It's embarrassing."

"It's cute." She couldn't help but grin too. Lightning thought back to the day he first noticed it, and called her out on it. That was truly the first time he had the upper-hand over her, and the first time he felt like he had even the slightest chance with her. He reminisced on this memory for a few moments.

"Can I ask you something?" He said.

"Anything." She replied smoothly.

"That day you offered me a cone, why'd you do that? It's not like I'd shown you any kindness at that point." He questioned. She chuckled before responding.

"Well, don't go thinking it was because of your charm, hotshot." She paused. "Oh, I don't know, it was kind of a mixture of reasons. I guess I realized that I was the only one in the town that you actually _didn't_ see as worthless redneck trash, like I was closer to your world than their's, and I thought I'd see what I could do with that. Plus, I had seen you learn from a mistake and begin to put effort into fixing the road." She answered. "And I really wanted to have someone at my motel for once." She added, ending with a smile to herself. She left out the small detail of seeing the slight window of opportunity that he might have been attracted to her.

"And at that point, I was still totally confused by you." He said, the smile was audible in his voice.

"Yea, it took me a while to figure out that you didn't just see me as another female, or some swooning fan." She said. He chuckled to himself.

"Yea, it took me a while to figure that out too." He said. They were working their way around the large, swooping curves of the road.

"And then I heard you talking with Mater, and I saw you really begin to give our lifestyle a chance. Well, that and I heard you two discussing me." She added casually. Lightning almost braked.

"You heard that?" He asked, stunned.

"Yes, of course." She said, wondering why he sounded so shocked.

"You said you only heard the helicopter part." He stated, but it sounded more like a question.

"Well, I thought it was obvious. I figured the timing wasn't right to bring up, well, us." She explained. He thought it over.

"Yea, I can see that. I just can't believe I never caught on that you had heard more." She grinned.

"And then we started talking, and at first I thought you truly meant you were going to get him the ride, then I got doubtful because you shied away when I confronted you on it." He was about to retort, but she continued on. "I was about to give up on any hope that you were changing, but then you thanked me. And it wasn't just an apology kind of thanks, you sounded as if you truly appreciated it- and you remembered what I'd said earlier about the cone. So you had been listening rather than just trying to be superior or something. After that, I decided to put some trust in you." She said with a confidant tone.

"Well, you were so determined to get a straight-forward answer out of me, it kind of scared me. I guess noo one had ever done that before. But I wanted to let you know that I wanted us to be on a positive note. Or at least hint at something."

_Hint taken, _she thought.

He thought a moment before speaking again. "When you invited me on the drive, I was stumped again, because you seemed like you were trying to have the upper hand again. But I knew you wouldn't do it without good reason."

"And you chose to follow me rather than make another jailbreak attempt. I knew you were really beginning to change." She finished for him.

"Yea, so did I." They laughed briefly.

"I guess the drive made me realize that there was more of a romantic air than anything else. Not to mention I fell for the landscape and story of the town, thanks to you." He said. "And at Wheel Well, it turned out we had similar backstories." He added with a smile, mentally noting that she had been willing to open up to him even back then.

"I think that's the point that it became something more to me, when I gave into it, ya know?" She said.

"I agree." He said. "And later Doc pointed out to me that until that point, I had never put anyone above myself. I figured it was about time that changed, and that it also kinda already had." He explained while steering the two of them into the wooded area. The sounds of the forest faded into the background of their conversation.

"And the next morning, when we thought you'd left, I was so disappointed. Disappointed in myself that I'd been so foolish to think you'd really stick around in hillbilly hell, even long enough to say goodbye. I thought you'd taken what you needed from me and ran off to live the glamorous life of fame and fortune. But I knew at least you'd truly seen the beauty of the town, and felt the same passion for it, regardless that it couldn't keep up with your high-speed lifestyle." She explained. "And when I found out you'd stayed, and how overjoyed I was, I realized just how hard I had fallen." She admitted, boldly stating the fact that she had fallen for him. Things such as that weren't much of a rarity for her when they were alone. To her own surprise, she tended to be affectionate both verbally and physically with him. Of course, this was no bother to Lightning. At all.

"Turns out it was just what I needed." He reassured her, well knowing that she now understood that the circumstances were much, much different than what she had figured back then.

"So I guess that brings us to when you repaired the neon?" Sally prompted. If the situation hadn't been such, he would have nodded.

"Ah, that's my favorite part." He said, causing her to laugh quietly.

"What even made you think to do that?" She asked after some thought.

"I, I dunno. The whole day I'd been patronizing the rest of the town, and it was so overwhelming how… alive, the town's history still was in present day. And as I was taking in all that, I realized that that's exactly why you'd fallen for the town, and just how much you wanted to see it in it's heyday. It all just lined up too perfectly." He paused. "And you know what? By the time all that was finished, I had no intension to go to the tiebreaker. None at all." Another pause.

"I'm glad you went. At the time, I wasn't, but looking back I think that if you would've gone, you'd later regret it and start subconsciously blaming the town for not knowing what could have been." She thought aloud. He thought this over for a moment.

"Yea, I think you're right." He agreed. "Anyway, I was so excited about showing you the town. Not to mention the rest of the town was pretty buzzed about it, too." He said. Sally laughed suddenly.

"The paintjob was a little much. But I can't say I didn't like it." She said joyfully. He laughed along with her.

"I remember being so stumped as to what you had planned for me, but so excited too. Really excited. And when those lights started flickering on, and everyone was so thrilled and lively again, and you were right there… I honestly can't remember a happier moment in my life." She said dreamily. Lightning beamed, and wished he was at her side rather than behind her. There was a beat of silence whilst they reflected on the perfection of that night. Up until a certain point, that is. Sally was the one to introduce the grim topic of their unhappy ending.

"That whole time, I thought that you had completely abandoned the thought of heading to LA. That's what made it all the better. When those paparazzi and such arrived, I was so confused. I'd no idea how or why they were there- until I saw the trailer. That's when it all sunk in- that you didn't really plan to stay. And once again, I felt so foolish. But then I realized, I had gotten more than I had ever asked for. You'd come along, I'd successfully shared my passion for the town with someone from the current world, and I felt you'd actually loved me. After all of that, I couldn't keep you from what you really desired all along."

"But I-" He began.

"I know." She interrupted. "I was totally wrong."

"So, that's why you were so eager to say goodbye? Because you thought I had called for them?"

"Mmhm. And I couldn't understand why you were so reluctant to make it a clean break." She said.

"And I couldn't understand why you were so ready to send me off, even though you seemed so upset." He explained. After a moment, he asked- "How did you find out that I hadn't called them?"

"After you left, I saw a reporter thank Doc for giving your location. God, I was so mad. He had selfishly took away our only glimpse at being a town again, just because he was biased against the racing world. We had all seen you change, even him, but he just wouldn't accept it. I guess it just took seeing our disappointment to see his mistake." She said. "I was tempted to somehow tell you that I was wrong, that you should try to work something out, but it was for the better. This little town couldn't keep up with your plans for life." She said sadly. He sighed.

"I almost scratched from the race. All I could think about was the town, and how much it had impacted me. And you. Thought a lot about you." He said almost sheepishly, but mainly with confidence. "And somewhere in between the 200 laps, I decided that no matter how the race ended I'd be heading back to RS when it was over. The nine voices in the pits were far more precious to me than 20,000 in the stands. But even more important, I knew there was one back home I just had to hear again." He said with full meaning.  
Sally smiled. "Wow. That just might be the cheesiest thing you've ever said." They laughed heartily, but both knew that despite the corniness it meant something.  
"I take it back, I think the happiest moment in my life was when you suddenly appeared at Wheel Well, even though I half expected that your return was to say a better goodbye or something."

"And I just couldn't wait to tell you I was not only moving in, but it was back on the map. Heck, I was just as excited myself."

They had finally reached the double doors to Doc's office, and Lightning rolled her indoors. Doc wasn't present in the waiting room, so they figured he would be with them momentarily. She braked gently and he turned to face her, both smiling widely.

"And they lived happily ever after." She said in a comical, airy tone. He chuckled lightly.

"You know something? Used to, you'd 'create feelings in me that I didn't understand', but- I think I'm starting to catch on." He said with a compassionate expression. Sally let any form of flirtation or sarcasm slip away, and smiled with genuine joy. Despite their location, she rolled forward and planted one on his lips.

The moment could have lasted an eternity, and it did last for a good while, but the two pulled apart at the sound of a wrench falling against the linoleum floor. They looked to the direction of the noise. A wide-eyed Doc stood in the doorway from the waiting room to the office, staring at them with an expression that was the offspring of embarrassment and shock. There was a brief moment of silence before Doc uttered,

"Uhm, a-any particular reason you two came here to do this?"

**A/N: Is it bad that I really like this? That sounds a bit conceited, but it feels good to write out my nit-picking dissections of these scenes, even if the set-up is sloppy. Please review, folks!**


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